Major Chinese Online Game Firm The9 Licenses Trinigy's Vision Engine

Germany-headquartered Trinigy said Wednesday that major Chinese online game company The9 licensed Trinigy's multiplatform Vision Game Engine, which will power a new, unannounced MMORPG. Trinigy said the deal is just the latest move in the company's goal to gain a greater foothold in the Chinese gaming market. The engine maker also has offices in Austin, TX and Seoul, South Korea. Last year, the company added seven licensing deals with studios in China, South Korea and Vietnam, including partnerships with Neowiz and SmileGate. Trinigy said in November last year that demand for its development platform helped it double its revenues year over year. The engine powers games including Ubisoft and Blue Byte Studios' The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom and Quadriga Games' Emergency 2012, among a number of other titles. The9 was formerly the operator for Blizzard's World of Warcraft in China, before losing the rights to the game to rival Netease in 2009. The Shanghai-based game company currently operates games including Soul of The Ultimate Nation, FIFA Online 2, Atlantica and Kingdom Heroes 2 Online in China. The company also develops games, including the free-to-play MMO Firefall from Red 5 Studios, which The9 purchased last year with a $20 million investment.